Four juveniles in custody after stolen car turns up stolen jewelry, electronics

GUTHRIE, Okla. – A call for an abandoned vehicle turned out to be anything but in Logan County Thursday.

The “abandoned” car turned out to be stolen.

The four juveniles who were inside are now under arrest.

“You just never know what you’re going to get with an abandoned vehicle,” said Guthrie PD Sgt. Anthony Gibbs. “Between the stolen vehicle and all the stolen property, it was a pretty significant find.”

Local plumber Ted Hurley was the first to spot anything.

He saw the car, unable to move, stuck in a ditch near Highland Park.

Hurley was returning from a lunch break, when he saw four people take off running.

“I figured it was a stolen car, because they ran,” said Hurley, who made the initial call to police. “If they’d have just accidentally run over that thinking they could drive off, why would they run off? They’d have just stood there.”

It turns out the vehicle was stolen.

The Spencer Police Department told NewsChannel 4 the victim was a senior citizen, who had been mugged walking out of a Walgreens at 23rd and Douglas Wednesday night.

Chief Virgil Green said the suspect grabbed the victims purse.

When she fought him, the suspect pushed her down, took her keys and took off.

Green said no weapons were used in the carjacking.

Guthrie Police and the Logan County sheriff caught up to the four juveniles who fled the scene.

Another boy and a girl were found behind Guthrie Junior High School with backpacks that contained stolen jewelry and electronics.

Gibbs said the Logan County sheriff had been investigating several area robberies.

The school was placed on alert during the incident, meaning students were not allowed to leave the building, even as classes continued.

The four juveniles are currently in jail as the sheriff’s office continues to investigate.

“It feels good,” Hurley said. “I don’t care for people like that. I work hard for my stuff, and a lot of people in Guthrie do, too. It don’t need to be stolen.”

The police department, so far, can’t put a monetary value on the stolen items, but Gibbs said the bust is still valuable.

“Normally, in a burglary, when someone comes in and takes small items like electronics, you just don’t expect to get those back,” he said. “It’s a great feeling for us to every once in a while be able to do that.”

Green said he personally drove the carjacking victim to Guthrie to retrieve her vehicle.